You know how we have a first team NBA defense PG in Rondo?You know how everyone talks about how big of an effect Bradley has on our defense?What is the difference?

Bradley works his butt off every single defensive possession while Rondo does here and there. Yes, Rondo has way more offensive responsibility than Bradley but the lack of effort on defense is just mindblowing. I'm watching the Suns game now and have watched all season Rondo just casually jog back on defense instead of squashing the fast break. I've seen Rondo just lazily half ass run to his man instead of closing out on the shooter and contesting.

What happened to the guy who took Lebron on 1 on 1? He didn't forget how to play defense overnight. It's EFFORT.

We're talking a guy who has had about 25 triple doubles in his career. Roughly 20 of them came in prime time games. What does that tell you about him? He plays when he feels like it. He works his butt off for a full game when it suits him. Imagine if he played at about 90% of what he did against the Heat this playoffs (because 100% is unsustainable).

Before I hear excuses about a full 82 game season, look at KG. He's like 20 years older than Rondo and plays balls to the wall every single minute of every single game he has ever played. Imagine if Rondo had KGs energy and effort level. He would have a triple double every three games.

I'm tired of seeing super lazy underachieving Rondo every game that isn't against CP3/Rose/DWill/Knicks/Heat/Lakers when Rondo suddenly turns into a top 5 player whenever he plays them.

Incredibly convoluted post which I apologize for but the point is Rondos lack of consistent effort is our problem. If he played like he does in every prime time nationally shown game, we'd be WAY better off.

Yeh his lack of effort is annoying sometimes but ****. I would hate to see this team without him.

I know. I'm not saying we're better off without him.

I'm saying we're WAY better when he plays hard which is in my opinion far less frequent than when he takes it easy.

The team the past 3 years have been way better in the playoffs. Why? Because Rondo actually starts playing hard and has 20-20, 15-10-15 games seemingly all the time. It's amazing how even his statistically numbers become way better when he works harder. Then on the other side of the ball the defense goes from good to great. Because Rondo actually contests shots instead of jsut backing off his man and fights through screens like they matter instead of jogging around them.

EDIT:Another thing that irks me is his stat padding. I usually don't mind passing up your own layup for another person, but when you give up a good shot so another person can take a contested jumper or contested layup you're stat padding and costing your team points. This has happened a lot. He gets to the rim and automatically kicks it out even if he has a clear path for an easy layup.

Even though you said dont mention it. I hate to say but.... 82 game season lol. Pretty hard to go out every game and just play insane. Granted players like kg lebron kobe do it among others. But they are are just freaks of nature. Saying that do some players take 'nights off' probably yeh. its an extraordinarily long season. I play 20 games in a local footy comp and against some of the lesser teams its harder to get as motivated as possible. Those big games and rivalry games... there is just a different atmosphere, no other way to explain it.

You know how we have a first team NBA defense PG in Rondo?You know how everyone talks about how big of an effect Bradley has on our defense?What is the difference?

Bradley works his butt off every single defensive possession while Rondo does here and there. Yes, Rondo has way more offensive responsibility than Bradley but the lack of effort on defense is just mindblowing. I'm watching the Suns game now and have watched all season Rondo just casually jog back on defense instead of squashing the fast break. I've seen Rondo just lazily half ass run to his man instead of closing out on the shooter and contesting.

What happened to the guy who took Lebron on 1 on 1? He didn't forget how to play defense overnight. It's EFFORT.

We're talking a guy who has had about 25 triple doubles in his career. Roughly 20 of them came in prime time games. What does that tell you about him? He plays when he feels like it. He works his butt off for a full game when it suits him. Imagine if he played at about 90% of what he did against the Heat this playoffs (because 100% is unsustainable).

Before I hear excuses about a full 82 game season, look at KG. He's like 20 years older than Rondo and plays balls to the wall every single minute of every single game he has ever played. Imagine if Rondo had KGs energy and effort level. He would have a triple double every three games.

I'm tired of seeing super lazy underachieving Rondo every game that isn't against CP3/Rose/DWill/Knicks/Heat/Lakers when Rondo suddenly turns into a top 5 player whenever he plays them.

Incredibly convoluted post which I apologize for but the point is Rondos lack of consistent effort is our problem. If he played like he does in every prime time nationally shown game, we'd be WAY better off.

rondo is allowed to put effort when he wants to. he is a star and we will let him do that.

So yeah, he usually does play better when he's in the spot light, but is it really that big of a difference? Two or three points more than his average is not a lot, and his assists are actually down...and I would never expect him to average 8 rebounds/game over a season. The narrative that Rondo only tries when he's on National TV or against a good team is so overblown and hasn't been true for a long time.

I won't deny that Rondo's been struggling on the defensive end this season though.

Rondo won a championship as a starting PG when he was a baby in this league. He has lead this team, along with Pierce and Garnett, to the greatest period of basketball this franchise has seen since the 80's.

Rondo is a great point guard. I always have stated that. I have always said also that he's not a great fit for this team. A better fit for Rondo to me are the Kings. They're a young selfish team that desperately needs a Rondo distributor. I'll do this package...

I think he is very consistent is stirring up hate from guys who don't understand his value. No one steps up to a big game anymore on the team more than him. DJ got for the big games too. Some guys play to the level of their opponents it is just the way it is folks. Great when your playing against studs and sucks eggs when your playing scrubs.

I think he is very consistent is stirring up hate from guys who don't understand his value. No one steps up to a big game anymore on the team more than him. DJ got for the big games too. Some guys play to the level of their opponents it is just the way it is folks. Great when your playing against studs and sucks eggs when your playing scrubs.

So yeah, he usually does play better when he's in the spot light, but is it really that big of a difference? Two or three points more than his average is not a lot, and his assists are actually down...and I would never expect him to average 8 rebounds/game over a season. The narrative that Rondo only tries when he's on National TV or against a good team is so overblown and hasn't been true for a long time.

I won't deny that Rondo's been struggling on the defensive end this season though.

So yeah, he usually does play better when he's in the spot light, but is it really that big of a difference? Two or three points more than his average is not a lot, and his assists are actually down...and I would never expect him to average 8 rebounds/game over a season. The narrative that Rondo only tries when he's on National TV or against a good team is so overblown and hasn't been true for a long time.

I won't deny that Rondo's been struggling on the defensive end this season though.

So yeah, he usually does play better when he's in the spot light, but is it really that big of a difference? Two or three points more than his average is not a lot, and his assists are actually down...and I would never expect him to average 8 rebounds/game over a season. The narrative that Rondo only tries when he's on National TV or against a good team is so overblown and hasn't been true for a long time.

I won't deny that Rondo's been struggling on the defensive end this season though.

The original poster was referring to defensive effort more than actual stats. Something i agree with.

That said when rondo does show effort in defense and for 50/50 balls, his game rocks. An example would be when he dove on the floor against Atlanta.

I don't think he's been very good but he's not as bad as some say.

Having Bradley with him makes him a lot better, as well. His strength has always been steals vs staying in front of his man.

Yeah he looked a little lost without Bradley alongside him. Since Bradley has come back his effort and intensity on the defensive end has jumped up a spark or two. He is still not exerting as much energy as he could be but there has been minor noticeable difference in his effort and defensive body language.

The NBA’s trade deadline remains more than a month away, but rumors have begun to intensify with franchise cornerstones like Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins, Zach Randolph and Rajon Rondo showing up in reports across the league.

While speculation in the media has increased, there hasn’t been a ton of substantive talk among NBA teams at this point. After a conversation with a league executive on Wednesday, the takeaway was that we may not see any significant moves for a few weeks.

“There hasn’t really been a lot of talk going around,” the executive said. “There is general chatter, but nothing serious. A lot of teams are trying to figure out what is going on with Memphis and all the names that have been thrown around.”

There will undoubtedly be more players surfacing in trade rumors as the Feb. 21 deadline approaches, but the odds of a significant trade happening in January remain long.